1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic musical apparatus customizing method that customizes an electronic musical apparatus by providing musical tone control data for controlling the generation of musical tone signals from a server to the electronic musical apparatus that generates the musical tone signals, to an electronic musical apparatus that is applied to the method, and to a server for the electronic musical apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventional electronic musical apparatus such as an electronic musical instrument often includes a musical tone signal generator that generates musical tone signals and a memory device that stores beforehand various musical tone control data that are supplied to the musical tone signal generator for controlling the generation of the musical tone signals, for example, various musical tone control data such as timbre data, effect data, automatic accompaniment data, and automatic play data. A user of the electronic musical apparatus may select desired musical tone control data to set the musical tone signals generated by the musical tone signal generator to a desired timbre, to impart a desired effect to the musical tone signals, and to allow generation of desired automatic accompaniment sounds, automatic play sounds, and the like from the musical tone signal generator.
Also, the user may prepare various musical tone control data such as timbre data, effect data, automatic accompaniment data, and automatic play data that the user desires by using a musical tone control data preparing function, a musical tone control data editing function, and others that are provided beforehand in the electronic musical apparatus, for storage in a memory device so that the user may use the prepared musical tone control data at the time of playing. Further, the user may connect the electronic musical apparatus to different electronic musical apparatus via a cable so as to store, in a memory device, the musical tone control data that are input from the different electronic musical apparatus, or may read the musical tone control data that are prepared in different electronic musical apparatus and recorded in a recording medium such as a flexible disk or a compact disk, for storage in a memory device.
However, in the aforesaid conventional electronic musical apparatus that uses only the musical tone control data stored beforehand in a memory device, desires of individual users may not be fully satisfied, since the memory device stores only the average musical tone control data that satisfy the desires of many users at an intermediate level. For example, a user that mainly plays or listens to Latin music may desire that the memory device stores beforehand numerous kinds of musical tone control data (timbre data, effect data, automatic accompaniment data, automatic play data, etc.) related to the Latin music; however, such desires may not be fully satisfied. Further, a beginner user may desire numerous kinds of automatic play data related to simple and easily understandable lesson music for practice; however, such desires of the user may not be fully satisfied, either. In contrast, if one wishes to satisfy the desires of all the users, a huge memory capacity is required in the memory device, and this is unrealistic.
Further, even in the aforesaid conventional electronic musical apparatus in which the users themselves prepare the musical tone control data, the musical tone control data cannot be easily prepared, and it is difficult to store numerous musical tone control data that suit the user""s preference in a memory device. Further, even in an electronic musical apparatus that obtains musical tone control data from a different electronic musical apparatus or from a recording medium, it is not easy to find musical tone control data that are to be taken into the electronic musical apparatus and are suitable for the electronic musical apparatus, and in this case as well, it is difficult to store numerous musical tone control data that suit the electronic musical apparatus owned by the user and suit the user""s preference in a memory device.
In order to solve these problems, one may prepare numerous kinds of electronic musical apparatus that are equipped with plural kinds of musical tone control data (timbre data, effect data, automatic accompaniment data, automatic play data) each made of a different combination for each region or country or in accordance with the user""s preference. However, if this is adopted, one must manufacture numerous kinds of electronic musical apparatus that incorporate plural kinds of musical tone control data each made of a different combination, and also one must carry out the management of the stock and the like, thereby leading to cumbersome manufacture and management.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic musical apparatus customizing method by which an electronic musical apparatus purchased by a user can be easily customized to suit the user""s preference by allowing various musical tone control data that suit the electronic musical apparatus to be easily taken into a memory device from outside. The present invention also aims at providing an electronic musical apparatus that is applied to this electronic musical apparatus customizing method, and a server for the electronic musical apparatus.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention relates to an electronic musical apparatus customizing method that is applied to an electronic musical apparatus comprising a musical tone signal generator for generating musical tone signals and a memory device capable of storing musical tone control data supplied to the musical tone signal generator for controlling generation of the musical tone signals. The electronic musical apparatus is customized in such a manner that desired musical tone control data to be stored into the memory device are supplied from a server having a database that stores various musical tone control data to be stored into the memory device and applicable to plural kinds of electronic musical apparatus, to a user side that uses the electronic musical apparatus so as to allow the supplied musical tone control data to be stored into the memory device on the user side. Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in accordance with identification information supplied from the user side and representing individual electronic musical apparatus, musical tone control data applicable to the electronic musical apparatus represented by the identification information are presented from the server to the user side; and musical tone control data belonging to the presented musical tone control data and selected by the user side are read out from the database, and the read-out musical tone control data are supplied from the server to the user side.
Viewed from another aspect, the present invention is characterized by the electronic musical apparatus to be customized and a server for realizing customization of an electronic musical apparatus. Further, in this specification, the term xe2x80x9celectronic musical apparatusxe2x80x9d widely refers to electronic apparatus that includes a musical tone signal generator for generating musical tone signals in accordance with musical tone control data and a memory device for storing the musical tone control data, and is used to include electronic musical instruments having a keyboard, electronic musical instruments without a keyboard, sequencers, personal computers, game apparatus, karaoke apparatus, and others.
In these cases, the information exchange between the user side and the server may be carried out via the internet. In order to use this internet, the first embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the electronic musical apparatus further includes a communication interface circuit that allows information exchange with the server, whereby the information exchange between the server and the user side via the internet may be carried out with the use of the interface circuit, and the musical tone control data supplied from the server to the user side are directly downloaded into the memory device via the interface circuit.
On the other hand, the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that a computer apparatus for supplying to the electronic musical apparatus the musical tone control data to be supplied from the server to the user side is further provided on the user side, whereby the information exchange between the server and the user side via the internet, including the downloading of the musical tone control data supplied from the server to the user side, may be carried out with the use of the computer apparatus. In this second embodiment, an input circuit connected to the computer apparatus and capable of inputting the musical tone control data from the computer apparatus may be provided in the electronic musical apparatus, whereby the musical tone control data obtained from the server via the internet by the computer apparatus may be stored into the memory device via the input circuit. Further, a drive device that reads data recorded in a recording medium such as a flexible disk or a compact disk may be provided in the electronic musical apparatus, whereby the musical tone control data obtained from the server via the internet by the computer apparatus and recorded in the recording medium may be stored into the memory device via the drive device.
These allow that, even if the musical tone control data are not stored or only the average musical tone control data are stored in the memory device at the time of selling the electronic musical apparatus, musical tone control data especially desired by the user can be easily obtained from the server and can be stored into the memory device. Therefore, even without the use of a memory device having a large capacity, desires of individual users can be fully satisfied. For example, for a user that mainly plays or listens to Latin music or even for a beginner user, the musical tone control data desired by the user can be easily obtained, and the electronic musical apparatus can be customized as desired by the user, thereby satisfying various desires of the users. Further, there will be no need for preparing numerous kinds of electronic musical apparatus for each region or country or in accordance with the user""s preference, thereby facilitating the manufacture and management of the electronic musical apparatus.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the electronic musical instrument purchased by the user is specified in accordance with the identification information, and only the musical tone control data that suit each electronic musical apparatus are presented to the user, thereby avoiding a situation in which the musical tone control data that are not suitable are stored into the memory device. This leads to efficient use of the memory device.
Furthermore, another characteristic of the present invention lies in that a part of the musical tone control data is stored beforehand in the memory device at the time of manufacturing and purchasing the electronic musical apparatus, and the musical tone control data supplied from the server to the user side are additionally stored into the memory device. This leads to an advantage such that, even at the time of purchasing the electronic musical apparatus, at least the average musical tone signals can be generated.
Alternatively, in lieu of the aforementioned characteristic, the musical tone control data may not be stored beforehand in the memory device at the time of manufacturing and purchasing the electronic musical apparatus, and the musical tone control data supplied from the server to the user side may be stored into the memory device. This leads to an advantage such that the musical tone control data that are not needed by the user are not stored into the memory device, so that the capacity of the memory device can be restrained to the minimum.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that information representing a data amount of the musical tone control data supplied from the server to the user side is stored in the server in association with the identification information so that musical tone control data exceeding a predetermined amount will not be supplied to the user side. This prevents musical tone control data from being infinitely supplied from the server to the user side. This leads to an advantage such that, while satisfying the user""s desires, one can avoid a disorderly supply of the musical tone control data from the server to the user side and can prevent the management and maintenance of the server from becoming complex.